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Tag the Turtwig

"Gotta go fast!"

0 · 2,148 views · located in Castelia City

a character in “The Multiverse”, as played by NeverEndingFlip

Description

Nickname:
Tag

Pokemon:
Turtwig (Grass Type)

Gender:
Male

Personality:
He's very anti-social unless to comes down to his other friends in the guild. He'd prefer to get things done. He has a hard time trusting others in general. Reserved and shy, he lived alone on the outskirts of town, by the beach before joining the Isle Defenders. When he wants to get things done, he wants to get things done at that moment. He believes all things were meant to be completed as fast as possible. While he doesn't act upon it, he has a kind heart and a chivalrous attitude, but is hesitant to get in people's way. While being single-minded, it gives him focus on the task at hand.

Strengths:
Tag is very fast. Along the lines of Crimson in terms of indirectness, rather than use agility to dodge attacks, he uses his speed to evade them. This also makes him very good at surprise attacks and quick attacks, giving his opponent virtually no chance to recover. And if all else fails, he can run from the fight easily.
Tag enjoys range attacks. Far from danger and effective with his speed, Tag has become very good at attacks from afar with Razor Leaf and Vine Whip. His accuracy develops over time until it becomes very hard to miss.
Tag is not distracted easily. He has a small resistance to a variety of mind-status effects, often recovering quicker than many Pokemon. This does not include physical status effects like Burn and Poison. Cringe, due to his hesitation, isn't one of those effects he has resistance to.
Tag is a grass type, making him strong to water types.

Weaknesses:
Tag is hesitant in conflict. He will almost never make the first move, rather starting off a battle by doing what he does best: run. Evading the attack and following up with ranged attacks is a common start for Tag, making him predictable.
Tag is single-minded. This makes him less tactical. Tag doesn't improvise very easily, so changing a fighting-style mid-fight will throw him off, making him even more hesitant than before.
Tag is bad at Close Quarter Combat. If you can get close to Tag, you beat him. Tag's headbutt is extremely weak, almost to a laughable degree, making opponents who do get close to Tag an almost assured victory.
Tag is a grass type, making him weak to fire types.

Moveset

Tackle- A Normal-Type move. Deals damage.

Razor Leaf- A Grass-Type move. Razor Leaf deals damage and has a high critical hit ratio.
In battles with multiple opponents, Razor Leaf targets all adjacent foes. Razor Leaf will also destroy grass patches found in the background of battles.

Synthesis- A Grass-Type move. Synthesis heals the user dependent on time and weather.

Giga Drain- A Grass-Type move. Giga Drain will inflict damage on the target and œ of the damage dealt will be restored to the user as HP.
The base PP of Giga Drain is 5 in this generation, and its base power is 60.

Energy Ball- A Grass-Type move. Energy Ball damages the opponent and has a 10% chance of lowering the target's Special Defense by one stage.

Withdraw- A Water-Type move. Withdraw increases the user's Defense by one stage.

So begins...

Tag the Turtwig's Story

Characters Present

Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Meryl the Minun Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Pert the Plusle
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Elite Four, eh? Aren't there a lot of Elite Fours? Can't be so elite if there's a lot of 'em...

Radegast stirred as the sun's rays creeped around the tree branches and cast a sliver of direct light over his eyelid. He opened the still-shaded eye to see the Operative still wide awake and standing watch. Over night, she had set up a branch to stand ramrod-straight, using well-placed strands of webbings to create a radio tower-like vantage point overlooking the outskirts of the forest. This was probably because Elder and Rage were hogging the branches up above Radegast's position. Rage was snoring, though Elder did not seem to mind.

Crystal and Suros were also asleep, though they kept quite close to Radegast.

"Sir!" Operative chirped, "It is 0850 hours! Recommend the squad has breakfast soon!"

"Hungry, eh?" Radegast chuckled as he checked his hoodie pockets, "Hm... guess we gotta forage today."

"I'm on it!" The tiny Joltik bounced on top of her tower before she scuttled down to zip into the forest. Elder's eyes slowly opened as they followed the small bug vanish into the tall grass and shadows.

"Hey!" Elder called as he hovered into the forest, "We go together!"

"I'll catch up, buddy," Radegast gestured Elder to quickly follow the Operative. He gently moved Suros onto his shoulder, prodded the Seel in the cheek, and removed the branch so he could use it to prod the Mankey awake. Not that he needed the branch, it was simply a learned habit.

The half of the branch that prodded the Mankey slumped onto the ground in splinters. "THE TIME IS NOT ZERO-EIGHT-FIFTY HOURS, IT IS ALWAYS ARMAGEDDON!" Rage roared, "I NEED NO WAKING UP FOR TRUE RAGE NEVER SLEEPS!"

"C'mon dude," Radegast beckoned, "Gotta catch up to Operative so we can forage some grub!"

"THIS 'GRUB' YOU SPEAK OF SOUNDS DELICIOUS! I WILL JOIN!"

"Keep it down, Rage," Suros slowly trilled, "Some of us are tryin' to sleep,"

"VERY WELL, FRIEND SUROS! I WILL MAINTAIN A FORM OF SILENCE!" Rage screeched at the top of his lungs.

Crystal chuckled as she returned to the pokeball on Radegast's belt. After all, she didn't have legs to walk through the forest with.

---

The Operative and Elder were further in the forest, though the ghastly left a lingering gas trail for the trainer to follow. "Operative!" Elder called, "We need to go together!"

"Apologies, sir!" The Joltik hopped remorsefully, "I am still not used to the squad practices!"

"Hey, no worries kid," Elder nudged the small bug with a malformed condensed gas hand, "You also haven't slept because you were always standing watch. Not a good routine to have either... Though if you do feel the urge to move ahead in the future, be sure to leave a trail. Good thing I left-"

He was cut off when the two of them spotted a series of bushes with a variety of delicious berries. The duo slowly approached, enamoured with the delicious sight, until Elder stopped dead in his tracks. "Something troubling, sir?" Operative barked. She also paused, though she was a couple of paces closer to the clump of bushes. They were a good couple of metres away from the good grub.

"Yes," Elder replied, "These bushes didn't grow here by accident. They hold a diverse collection of berries, and sit in a perfect U-shaped formation. Someone placed these here. We should wait for the others."

Characters Present

Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Meryl the Minun Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Pert the Plusle
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Team One: Dobro and Domingo


"So what do you think?"

Domingo turned back toward his partner to give him a rather cynical look. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?" Dobro's voice sounded a little annoyed, but Domingo was set on this.

"We're here for a reason," he told the Pangoro. "We have to back up TeaM PerSisTenCe. Even if we may not be on the front line anymore, we have to be there to be ready for anything."

Doro moved a branch out of his way. "But what if they need our help in the town or the Academy? What do we do then?"

Domingo's answer was a hundred percent certain. "We go help them."

"Yeah and what happens when the humans see us? Right now, we're the bad guys to them. They'll try to destroy us on the spot. But even worse, they'll see that TeaM PerSisTenCe is with us as well and think they're bad ones too. We take everyone down this way. Mission over."

There was a little bit of truth in those words, Domingo knew. But still..."And leaving the island is an appropriate response?"

Dobro shrugged, "We're less of a liability to them. We're out of the way. And what can we honestly do for them at this point? They're more qualified than us for the task, what with Crimson and his skills."

Domingo suddenly stopped walking, making a full one eighty degree turn to stare at Dobro with determined eyes. "I'm not leaving. I don't care what kind of predicament we might get them in by staying. I don't care what kind of skills Crimson may have. I don't even care if we end up sitting around the entire time doing nothing. They might need us. Who's gonna save them when they need someone to help? At the moment, Team RedEye isn't exactly the most reliable source until they prove themselves as not the ones doing this. That leaves us as the fallback plan. And Crimson isn't perfect. I've seen him beaten many times, way more than you have. Sure, he's smart and agile and has...well, persistence that can't be ignored. But he can be beaten. Neeko proved that one to me. So just in case, you and I have to be here to be ready for the unexpected. Because it does come, Dobro. It does."

Domingo whipped back around and continued to search the forest. The two were silent for a few minutes, gazing around for the somewhat infamous Team RedEye. They hadn't covered much of the forest, but they hadn't been looking for very long. The trees weren't that thick, but they were somewhat low hanging, enough so for it to be a constant problem for Dobro as he was constantly ducking out of the way and moving aside branches. Domingo would help clear the path for him by using his horn to slice through a couple of the branches in front, paving a way.

During one such instance, it would be Dobro that would break the silence, "Kind of a good thing you have that horn on your head."

Domingo made a noise, "You have horns all over your body. You're practically made of spikes."

Dobro raised a brow at this, "Oh really now? You think these spikes protect me from stuff? That's just my fur. I don't-"

"Shh!" Domingo cut in suddenly, dropping low to the ground. "I hear voices."

"Pokemon or human?"

"Can't tell. I don't see anyone. Sounded like a girl with a very...obedient tonality..." Much like how he was when he was moving through the Isle Defender ranks. "Wait...now I hear a male. Has that mentoring kind of quality in his voice. They're talking about...berries?"

"Has to be Pokemon," Dobro decisively said.

"Humans know about berries too, y'know," Domingo reminded him. "Let's go check it out."





Team Two: Pert and Meryl


"Pert, would you stop looking down into the river?!"

"I can't help it!" Pert admitted, "It's so cool the way it just...cuts through the mountains like this. These mountains are cool!"

Meryl sighed in annoyance and motioned for his ADD brother to catch up. In all honesty, she completely agreed with him. These mountains were gorgeous, especially against the backdrop of a cloudless sky like it was this morning. If given the option, she would lounge around these mountains the entire day, just simply looking up.

But she had a job to do. She had to find Team RedEye. And she would make sure Pert understood their objective as well.

Speaking of...Meryl turned back to find Pert picking up rocks that seemed out of place, particularly the obsidian. "Pert!"

"What? I'm just looking!" Pert set the rock down and had to bound his way to where Meryl was.

"Yeah, we both are. For Team RedEye. Remember?" Meryl continued to talk while she looked around. "We won't make much progress if you keep stopping at every nook and cranny looking at things we can always come back to after we find them."

Pert sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Meryl actually felt a little guilty. It felt like she was deflating his balloon of optimism with every word out of her mouth. She always wondered if she was pushing Pert away with everything she said. The least she could do is let his eyes wander towards the cool stuff just a little bit.

So she gave a nod, "That's okay. And it's alright to look around at things and point them out. Just don't stop every time you do."

Pert's eyes lit up a bit more and nodded.

They walked around the mountains a bit more. Pert would point out a cool structure or landmark every so often and the two would enjoy the moment together. Meryl even made an attempt once, pointing out a five foot deep indent in one of the mountains. It wasn't terribly interesting, but it was a start.

After a while, they realized they'd made a full circle. They had explored the mountains without any sign of Team RedEye. Meryl was slightly deflated by this, but Pert seemed chipper as ever, clapping his hands together.

"Alright, so the swamp next?"





Team Three: Crimson, Tag, and Sarik


"It was right here."

Crimson, Sarik, and Tag were just outside of the Academy. They weren't close enough to be spotted unless someone came exploring the area, but they weren't exactly out of sight of the building either. A far distance away, they could see students bustling about, training of the practice fields, studying for tests, or just hanging out with friends. Meanwhile, the three were studying their own thing: trying to figure out what Crimson saw last night.

Crimson didn't have the chance to tell them what he saw when he returned. By the time he'd gotten back, everyone was asleep. So much for worrying about me... he'd thought. But he was actually happier they were resting than anxiously waiting for him to get back. Crimson soon joined them. After they split up into their groups the following morning, Crimson had told Sarik and Tag what he saw last night as they walked, from the ending of the fight to the moving figure among the shadows. Afterward, he proceeded to show them the spot and see if they could find any clues before starting their search for Team RedEye.

"I was standing to the left of this tree," he pointed towards the lone tree on the hillside and started walking up to it as if to simulate what he did last night. Tag and Sarik patiently watched. "And I saw something move...somewhere around there." he pointed towards an area of grass not terribly far from a trail.

"You sure it wasn't the wind?" Tag asked him. Crimson gave him a knowing stare, as if he knew he was going to say that before continuing.

"I saw what I saw. The wind doesn't move like how I saw that shadow move." Crimson started surveying the area he'd just pointed out. "I'd say let's look for footprints or something."

"It was dry last night," Sarik pointed out. "You're not gonna find footprints in the grass."

"Maybe they left something," Crimson kept his hopes up as he looked. The three searched for a few minutes before coming up with empty air.

"Well there's nothing to go off of," Sarik concluded. "Whoever was sneaking around was very good at it."

"Sounds like Gova's work," Tag reasoned.

Crimson thought about it for a moment. That would be something Gova would do. It was something she was excellent at doing. Observing in secret. Sneaking around and finding out stuff. "Maybe...but let's find them first before we make that conclusion."

The other two nodded and started walking beside the trail in the tall grass. This way, if someone were to come by, they could duck down and hide. But it actually would lead them to the clue they were looking for...

"Ow!" Sarik cried out and started hopping up and down.

"You okay?" Tag turned around, a concerned look on his face. Crimson also looked in his direction.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sarik called out irritably. "I just stepped on..." He lost his voice when he looked down, his expression of anger turning into one of curiosity, then realization. "Uh, guys. You may wanna come look at this."

Crimson and Tag both ran towards the Squirtle, Tag arriving first. "What's up? What did you find?"

"Look for yourselves," Sarik pointed down at the ground. The two looked down...and gasped at the same time.

"A Distance Communicator?" Crimson murmured, staring at the broken piece of Tech. It wasn't in too many pieces, making it recognizable.

"Yeah," Sarik nodded. "I can't believe it either."

"They must've dropped it," Tag added. "It seemed like they were in a big hurry to get out of here. But why?"

Crimson reached down and picked up the major part of the broken Tech, flipping it over to find the one thing he wished he wouldn't have...the all too familiar Magnet Symbol engraved on the back. The same symbol could be found at the base of Crimson's Power Bat, the sole of Tag's Power Boots, and the underbelly of Sarik's Power Scope.

"Crimson..." Sarik said sadly as he looked over his shoulder. "You know what this means..."

Crimson had to take a deep breath before nodding. Not that he didn't have his suspicions before, but this just about confirmed it. This was Dr. Eckels Tech...and there were only two other Pokemon besides the members of TeaM PerSisTenCe and Team Justice who had access to this Tech.

Pounce and Gova...the two members of Team RedEye.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Meryl the Minun Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Pert the Plusle
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The Joltik hopped around, planting thin strands of electrified webbing on their three and nine-o-clock flanks. Elder pursed his ghostly lips together as his eyes examined every inch of nearby forest with his immensely critical eye.

"Flanks secure, sir!" The Joltik announced.

"I didn't ask for it," Elder stifled a laugh, "But it is good to have your bases covered. Not sure how some Electro-webbing is going to help against rock and ground-types, though."

"It will suffice as an alarm!" The Joltik replied, "Giving us ample time to scrounge as many berries as we need!"

"I am not sure that you get it," the Ghastly turned to face the small bug, "I am certain these bushes belong to someone. If we steal from these bushes, we'll be making an unnecessary enemy. That's not how we roll."

As the Operative pondered on Elder's words, an elephantine eruption of sound slew the silence like a mighty dragon. "I SMELL MANY A BERRY, OVER TOP OF YOUR TRAIL, FRIEND ELDER!" The Mankey known as Rage plowed through a collection of nearby ferns and branches. The sheer power behind this lunge sent splinters, twigs and leaves flying everywhere. "THE LORD-REGENT IS ON HIS WAY!"

"Good," Elder sighed, "Operative, hold position, please."

"Yes, sir! I apologize for running off again!"

---

Radegast's approach came to a pause half-way along the gas trail, for the trail itself had been blown away by a sudden gust that flowed between the trees. Suros ruffled her feathers, but remained on Radegast's shoulder.

"Well shit," Radegast chuckled as he dug his hands deeper into the pockets of his hoodie. He then heard the unmistakable trumpet-like screech of a Mankey, "Good thing Rage went ahead," he laughed, and continued strolling in the general direction of the voice.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Meryl the Minun Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Pert the Plusle
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Team One: Dobro and Domingo


“Elder! Rage! Operative!”

Dobro heard more voices coming from further into the forest. More members to their party? If so, how many? But at least he managed to get thee names of the three present in front of him. Elder, he'd assume, was the Ghastly. Operative was presumably the hyperactive Joltik. And Rage...well that was an easy one.

“Anyway, if you don’t own this berry farm
 who does?” Elder asked him.

Dobro shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. We're rather new to the island." The giant Pangoro looked down at the tiny Joltik, who was holding up the Cheri berry for him to take. "Um, thanks." he picked it up and examined it. This would do wonders against that paralysis Domingo had. He walked back towards the Samurott, placing the berry in his mouth. Domingo had enough motion to chew and swallow.

Rather quickly, the effects were gone. Irritably, Domingo shook his head, trying to clear his mind and focus on what just happened. "Man, paralysis sucks..." he muttered under his breath before standing up shakily and getting hit footing as well as his bearings. "I would be more angry had that damn trap not impressed me a bit." He looked at the trio of Pokemon in front of him. "Who set it up?"

Dobro looked from the ghost-type to the electric-type to the fighting-type in front of him, "Well, given the options..."

"Shut it," Domingo snapped back. Dobro could only grin at his smart-aleck remark. Domingo looked over to The Operative. "Well placement of the trap...but is it wise to set it up in an area that isn't yours? You're keeping out whoever owns these bushes." He walked closer to the group of three, making sure he stepped over the trap this time.

Dobro followed suit. "I heard more voices from behind you. How many Pokemon are in your group?"




Team Three: Crimson, Tag, and Sarik


"Zane has to be with them."

"How do you know that?"

"They wouldn't do this without him. Zane has to have them under his influence. Naturally, they're a little...we'll say skewed. But not so much as to control others to kidnap other Pokemon to...I don't even know what!"

Crimson kicked a rock out of frustration. It didn't go flying very far, but it did succeed in hurting his foot. He decided to be tough about it and ignore the pain in front of Tag and Sarik, but he couldn't help but bluster an "Ow."

Sarik continued reasoning with him. "How would he get through the portal? We were the only ones who went through it. I assumed Dr. Eckels immediately closed it afterwards."

"Zane is cunning like that. He found a way. I just know it."

A moment of silence. The three were walking towards the Academy, just in case there were more clues to be had. Their plan was to survey around the edges without actually going in the schoolyard and being noticed. Then, they would continue the search for Team RedEye.

"So how do you think he got in?"

Crimson thought for a moment, "I think he got the help of someone who could turn him invisible, maybe? Or perhaps it was Tech? Though, I don't think Dr. Eckels developed such a device."

"Hold on a moment."

This was the first time Tag spoke on the subject and Crimson and Sarik both looked at him. "What?"

"How do you know for sure that Team RedEye is to blame for this?"

Sarik gave a confused look, "What do you mean?"

Tag continued, "I mean, what plausible proof do you guys have that Gova and Pounce and possibly Zane are behind this? You found a broken Distance Communicator in front of the Academy. So what? All it says is they were here at one point and that something happened for them to lose one of their communicators. It doesn't say when they were here. For all we know, they were attacked by the ones who are doing this. They could be in trouble right now and we're here proposing the thought?"

Crimson blinked, completely taken aback by what Tag just said. Finally, he murmured, "You're right. How could we have missed that?"

"You jumped to conclusions too quickly," Tag smiled. "Which is usually what I do. Kind of cool being on the other side of the argument for once."

Crimson started laughing, "I can't believe we did that! Of course we should keep our options open!"

"Nevertheless, we should still look for them, regardless of whether they are enemies or friends." Sarik pointed out.

Crimson and Tag nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we should."





Team Two: Pert and Meryl


Meryl looked into the swamp lands from the entrance of the mountains. It wasn't that dark...just terribly wet. Already, she could feel a slight air quality difference from where she stood. It felt a bit muggy in there. But they'd already cleared the mountains and this was the only area left for the two to discover today.

Pert bounded up behind her. "So what are we waiting for?"

"I don't know...I just..." Meryl couldn't find the right words to place her feelings. She couldn't help but feel like something was wrong...there was more than a quality difference in the air now. She couldn't describe it.

"Let's go," she decided to ingore it, put on her game face, and walk straight in. After all, she wasn't the worrywart. Sarik was. Pert followed close behind, eyes to the leaves that cascaded over the two in place of the sun's rays.

The two walked on. Meryl noticed immediately that it was harder to look for things here than it was in the mountains. Besides the darkness, the trees were everywhere and everything was green. A great place for grass and water types to walk around in and not be noticed. Hard for Pounce to trot through, but easy for Gova. So she kept her eye out for Pounce rather than Gova.

"Man, this place is thick," Pert commented, squinting through the shaded forest to try and see anything out of the ordinary. "And hot."

Meryl looked over to Pert with a quizzical look. "That's not like you to complain."

Pert smiled back at her. "These plus signs on my cheek don't always represent my mood. Just that I have positive energy."
His smile grew wider as Meryl realized that was a pun and groaned.

"Jeez, we've been with each other for so long, I'm surprised you haven't used that one yet..." Meryl thought she saw something moving out of the corner of her eye. Looking that way, there was nothing but green.

"I was saving it for a good moment..." Pert stifled a laugh. "I was POSITIVE you would react that way."

Another groaner. Meryl actually looked down at the ground in shame that he knew him. "Oh my..." she sighed.

"Hey, don't be so NEGATIVE, Meryl," Pert kept 'em coming. "I'm trying to be a POSITIVE influence."

Meryl turned around fiercely. "Look, would you just-"

A sudden strike at her back made her words catch in her throat and caused her to fall forward on her knee. A sudden cry of pain from Pert told her he suffered the same fate. The two landed next to each other, catching their breath from the sudden blow. Meryl looked left...and saw a purple figure whiz past!

"GAH!" she cried out and started to move backwards. Another strike sent her back to where she was. Clutching her back in pain, she looked at Pert, who was getting up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he responded. The two of them started to look around them as what appeared to be a purple tornado of bodies circled them. Occasionaly, a sharp thing would stick out, as if trying to reach the two. The tornado was closing in on the two. Pert stood back to back with Meryl, trying to find a gap to run through or a way to stop it.

"Meryl, Spark with me!" Pert's voice carried over the wind that was getting faster and faster as it came closer. Meryl nodded and prepared the attack. But rather than aim it forward, Pert began to sprint, holding the Spark behind him. Meryl did the same thing, her Spark meeting his. The result was a massive electrical explosion behind them, sending them flying. The force of the blast was also enough to disperse the tornado entirely, purple bodies scattering everywhere. Pert landed further up the path, rolling to land without taking damage. Meryl would've gone flying into the trees had she not grabbed one and swung around it, landing on the path as well. Spotting each other, the two ran back towards where they'd performed the attack. A charred ground from the explosion was all that awaited them. None of the purple bodies were in sight. They all must've flown into the swamp, she thought.

"You okay?" she asked with concern.

"I'm hurt, but I'll be okay. What about you?"

"I'll live," Meryl scanned the area around them, "...unfortunately. What was that?"

"Looked like a team attack," Pert noted. Meryl gave him a no duh! stare to which he shrugged. "You asked. I answered."

Sighing, Meryl continued to look around, expecting another attack. If they were able to survive the blast, so were their opponents. Her theory proved correct when Meryl saw a form emerging from the murky water. "Look!" she pointed at the creature. Pert's eyes followed and as the form started walking towards him, it clicked.

"Sableye..." Pert murmured. "But what are they doing in the swamp?"

"More importantly," Meryl saw two more shapes come up from the swamp, "Why are they attacking us?"

After a few seconds, Pert and Meryl both saw the long and arduous fight ahead of them. One by one, more and more Sableye emerged from the water, covered in green slime. Ew...

The small army of Sableye once more surrounded them. Meryl counted a total of eleven. Versus two.

Oh boy...

Characters Present

Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Meryl the Minun Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Pert the Plusle
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“Well placement of the trap
 but is it wise to set it up in an area that isn’t yours? You’re keeping out whoever owns these bushes.”

“Indeed,” Elder growled as he shot another glare at the Operative. The Joltik’s beady blue eyes glinted with mock-innocence as her mandibles clicked with an equally innocent... whistle. “We’ll get that cleared out ASAP, right Operative?”

The Joltik returned the glare, before she scuttled between the blades of grass to clear up the electro-webbing. Specifically, she absorbed the charge and rendered the webbing entirely ordinary. The trap would still slow down smaller pokemon. For a Samurott, however, the webbing wouldn't even count as a speed reduction option.

“I heard more voices from behind you. How many Pokemon are in your group?” The panda bear asked.

“Just two more, and then the Lord-Regent,” Elder replied in an unintentionally cryptic fashion, as if the Lord-Regent were so world-famous that no one would ask for elaboration. “But enough about the bushes. You seem like you’re looking for something.”

—

Suros hopped up and down, uncharacteristically nervous. She fired up some embers and burned a line between the hole and the nearest tree. From there, she burned a quick pattern on the tree trunk, a circle with an encompassing partially completed ellipse with pointed ends. It resembled an eye- intense as the situation Suros found herself in.

Radegast was in trouble, major trouble. He’d be fine with just Crystal, but the team is so horribly split up that it unnerved the lazy Fletchling. “Guys!” Suros called as she hopped and lightly singed leaves of grass as she hopped towards the source of the voices. “Guys we need hel-“

Suros caught sight of a Spearow wearing
 was that a headband? The Spearow glanced at the Fletchling with naturally mean-looking eyes.

The Spearow crouched low behind some bushes next to other different kinds of pokemon. All of them were either flying-types or dark-types, and all of them wore these unusual headbands, and all of the visible ones turned to look at the Fletchling. This gang appeared to be waiting for an opportune moment to strike at this group in the centre of what appeared to be a bush farm.

"I thought the human and it's pokemon both fell down..." one muttered to the other.

For a good few seconds, they all stood, staring at each other in silence. Suros then flared her wings savagely and fired several embers at the gang. “I DON’T GET PAID AT ALL FOR THIS!” Suros chirped wildly as she fluttered her wings and booked it in the opposite direction. The gang erupted in cries of shock and anger, filling the forest with noise. It would soon be revealed that this particular gang was quite numerous, and had the bush farm covered on three points on the proverbial clock.

—

The caverns were rather impressively made. The pokemon who lived in these tunnels between the deepest roots must have been either claustrophobic, or else were closer to Radegast’s size.

A pair of wild pokemon found themselves flat against the wall, held in place by slabs of ice that clung to the walls like spider silk. Radegast limped past, led onward by the slightly glowing energies that were stored in Crystal’s powerful horn. Crystal’s eyes blazed with a focused intensity as she took point. She wouldn’t be caught dead allowing her friend to succumb to this dingy little cave.

Radegast adjusted his left arm in the sling as he limped. On top of the dislocated arm, he suffered a sprained ankle. On occasion, he and Crystal stopped so the human could sit down and massage the ankle. “Kind of a nice adventure, eh Crystal?” Radegast chimed, now that his pain subsided slightly.

Crystal didn’t respond, though her mouth did curl upwards a little. She also relaxed
 only a little bit, however. She was the only capable fighter at the moment.

He stood up once more, continued down the tunnel, and found himself right back where he started. Crystal glanced up at the hole. She easily identified the mark in the dirt where Radegast’s chin dug in before the full drop.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Meryl the Minun Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Pert the Plusle
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Team One: Dobro and Domingo


“Sorry, buddy. I haven’t seen any of those on this island
 "

Domingo nodded in understanding. It made sense, he thought. While Pounce could be...well arrogant and loud, he knew some degree of stealth. Gova on the other hand was the master of it. It was her prime skill, the one she took the most pride in. He had no doubt she would've seen the trap he'd walked into earlier and easily eavesdropped on the group without fail.

A cold blast of air escaped through the tunnel, giving Domingo a slight chill as he turned towards the sound of grinding ice. A few moments later, the human stepped out of the hole. Domingo tensed up instantly at the sight. The island of Mohka where he came from was entirely run by Pokemon. In fact, that was one of the big reasons why the Isle Defenders were created: to keep the humans away from their paradise. Even though Team Justice and TeaM PerSisTenCe had their fair share of human encounters since meeting, not including Crimson himself, it was still an unnatural sight to him whenever he met one.

The human was hurt. That was evident in the makeshift sling he wore as well as the dried blood on his face and the slight limp he carried, although very slight. But he had a smile plastered on his face as if he'd went on the greatest adventure of a lifetime. Domingo had to respect that. The human loved what he did. He loved his Pokemon around him. He'd die for them if it came from that. And they would do the same. It was the same feeling Domingo held towards Dobro and his former partner, who ended up doing the same for him.

“Sup, I’m Radegast,” the man extended his hand to shake. “Thanks for helping my friends.”

Dobro stepped up first and shook his hand, the massive hand swallowing Radegast's within the black fur. "It's what we do, sir."

Domingo couldn't keep a smile off his face at Dobro's nobility. He was willing to risk everything to help out those who needed it. It was one of the reasons the two were such good friends as an Oshawott and Pancham. They had some of the straightest moral compasses around. Sure, sometimes Domingo would let his sense of duty to others get in the way of that on occasion. But Dobro kept him on the right path this time. And the feeling was much more gratifying.

Domingo inclined his head to Radegast, his way of saying you're welcome. He looked at Dobro, eyes gleaming. "We should probably continue to look for Pounce and Gova."

Dobro agreed. "Right," he said, looking back towards Elder. "I'd say he needs to get to a hospital. We could help you escort as far as the town, but it wouldn't be a great idea if we actually stepped in the city limits." He didn't know how many people knew about Domingo's episode, so he didn't know how they would react to their arrival in town. They didn't want to be seen as enemies, nor did they want to drag down Radegast's team with them.




Team Two: Pert and Meryl


SNAP!

Before she knew it, Meryl felt herself free falling as the branch she was leaping off of was cut from the tree by one of the Sableye's attacks. She looked ahead, seeing that she was close enough to potentially do some damage to the ones attacking Pert. If I'm going down, she thought, I'm taking one or two more with me.

She hit the Sableye from behind, square in the back. In a sense, the Sableye broke her fall, landing hard on the ground while she rolled off the unconscious Pokemon. Now everything hurt.

"Meryl!" Pert cried before using Thunder Wave, causing all the Sableye to freeze in place from paralysis. He ran over to the Minun, who was on the verge of passing out herself. "You okay?"

Struggling, Meryl grabbed his hand and pulled herself to her feet. She looked like she'd walked through hell and back and was barely able to stand. "Why...didn't you do that...earlier?" she groaned from pain.

"Didn't think about it," Pert told her. "And only now would it have made a difference, anyway." Glancing around at the frozen Sableye, he counted five remaining. "So how do we finish them off? Before they recover and start attacking us again?"

Meryl limped towards the remaining Sableye, using Pert as a crutch. "Y'know what..." she said irritably. "I'm just gonna do this..."

And she stepped forward and unleashed a Shockwave so powerful, it was enough to be felt by the entire island. The winds were powerful and full of electricity, swirling all around the swamp. It definitely finished off the rest of the Sableye, blasting them a mighty distance. Pert had to cover his eyes and cross his arms in front of him to avoid being carried away with them.

When the attack was done, the winds settling around them, Pert couldn't help but laugh. "Now why didn't you do that earlier?" he asked the Minun.

A second later, he got his answer when Meryl slumped to the ground, not moving.

"Meryl!" he cried, running over to her and practically sliding to see if she was alright. She was knocked out, that was for sure. Feeling for a pulse, he sighed in relief when he got a very faint one.

"Dangit, Meryl," Pert half spoke, half thought out loud as he picked her up in his arms. "Why'd you have to overdo it?"

He turned and made his way towards their base, taking one look back towards the battleground he'd left in their wake. They'd have to come back here at some point, he realized. Those Sableye wanted to take them down for a reason. Something was hidden in these swamps. And when he returned, he was going to find out what. For Meryl's sake.

He adjusted the grip he had on Meryl in his arms before making his way down the trail towards the mountains.




Team Three: Crimson, Tag, and Sarik


After a while searching around the school, Crimson, Tag, and Sarik came up with nothing but the broken Distance Communicator in their possession. And they searched thoroughly.

"Man," Tag sighed in exhaustion. "Not a footprint or nothin'."

Crimson looked at the other two before making a decision. "Okay, let's rest a bit before heading to Oak Town."

Without hesitation, the other two dropped to the ground and sighed at the welcoming feeling of relaxation.

Crimson laughed. "Come on, we've been on tougher walks than this. At least there isn't much terrain to climb over."

"Yeah, but we were hyped on adrenaline then," Sarik pointed out. "We were saving the world. Now we're looking for teammates."

Crimson shrugged and sat down in the grass, examining the place they'd decided to bunker down for a bit. It wasn't one of the most well kept parts of the school. The buildings here were quite small and cluttered. The grass stood a bit taller, the bricks a bit more worn. A tiny collection of dust was forming along the exterior windows. It wasn't kept in as much order as the other buildings. Crimson looked towards the other buildings, realizing the further the building was, the better shape it seemed to be...almost like a pecking order existed.

Weird.

Crimson was about to look towards the schoolyard once more when he noticed a form showing up...with certain red hair. Crimson raised a brow as he recognized Seraphine immediately, heading off in another direction. She was trying to keep up a smile, but her eyes and body language betrayed her. What happened? Crimson wondered. Was it something we did yesterday?

Suddenly, he felt all kinds of guilt.

"Wait here, guys. I'm going to check something out." Crimson told Tag and Sarik before walking towards the direction Seraphine was going. Now his curiosity got the better of him. Was their team the source as to why she seemed so sad? He had to find out and, if at all possible, rectify the situation. Tag and Sarik didn't argue or try to stop him, just watched him go with their own curiosity looming behind him.

Now Crimson knew he had to stay relatively hidden from any people. He knew it was a rarity to see Pokemon like him without an owner accompanying. So he'd draw suspicions if he was spotted. To prevent this, Crimson casually morphed into his Ground-Type state so he could use Dig if necessary.

That, and his flaming rear was practically a beacon of it's own in his fire state.

The now brown Chimchar followed quietly behind Seraphine as she walked towards a building. Cursing his luck, he watched her go into the building, presumably to talk to someone. He'd rather not walk into the building and intrude, so he poked around the outside, trying to find an open window and listen to a potential conversation. If he was lucky, he wouldn't have to wait long.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent
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"Oh, Seraphine. Please, come in." Touko seemed a little tired. "You seem a little concerned. Something on your mind?" She idly licked at a Casteliacone, trying to fight the urge to put her boots on the desk. "Is something the matter with your arrangements? Do you need help moving your things into the dorm? Or is it something else? I'm hardly a mind reader, you know, so you're going to have to speak up."

Another slow lick, looking at the student through her mousy brown bangs. Today was a long day, to be sure. Longer for Seraphine, who lost a battle and got her Pokémon stolen in one day..."Wait. Did you hear that? It sounds like someone's here." Touko frantically gestured to stay quiet. "You go first, I'll cover you. It sounds like there are Pokémon just outside. My Poké Radar is pinging like nuts."

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent Character Portrait: Cinder the Charmander
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Seraphine went into Touko's office. She looked tired. She wondered if this was always how she was. She must have a lot of students coming in and asking questions. "Well, it's not really a problem with my arrangements, as much as..." Touko stopped her. "Wait. Did you hear that? It sounds like someone's here." Touko frantically gestured to stay quiet. "You go first, I'll cover you. It sounds like there are Pokémon just outside. My Poké Radar is pinging like nuts."

Pokemon outside? She summoned Cinder from her pokeball and snuck towards the door. She opened it to find... Crimson, Tag, and Sarik. She was about to speak, but before she could, Cinder let out an excited "Char!" and ran towards Crimson."Cinder, wait! We don't know why they're here." Cinder turned around and walked back looking disappointed. She kept a safe distance and asked the chimchar "Hey! Why are you at the academy?"
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cinder was resting in her pokeball. Seraphine needed to collect her thoughts and she understood that. It had been a weird couple of days. All of the sudden, she was summoned out. She was in an office, which she assumed was Touko's since Touko was on the other side of the desk. She saw Seraphine walking quietly towards the door and followed. When her trainer opened the door, she looked to her left and saw... Crimson! "Crimson!" She shouted, as she started running down the hall. But Seraphine stopped her. She knew that whatever Crimson and the others were here for, it wasn't hostile intent. They would have at least brought their whole team if they were. But it was only three of them. However, she listened to her trainer and walked back to where the two humans were standing.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Meryl the Minun Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Pert the Plusle
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  1. Just a heads up, Crimson is the only one in the building. Tag and Srik and hanging around the outskirts of the Academy. Just clarifying.

    by NeverEndingFlip

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Teams One and Two: Dobro, Domingo, Pert, and Meryl


Team Justice didn't actually have to hike further than TeaM PerSisTenCe's home base. Arriving through the mountains, Dobro and Domingo entered the makeshift camp to find a scene they feared very often. Meryl was laying on her bed, eyes closed. Pert was kneeling by her side, tears brimming in his eyes. They both looked beaten to a pulp, but Meryl looked worse. Her creme color looked a bit more pale than Pert's, which wasn't a good sign. Pert looked up upon their entrance and immediately ran over to them, hugging the fluffy Pangoro.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" Pert sobbed into Dobro's chest. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, Dobro would look rather annoyed. He started patting the Plusle's back, trying to comfort him.

"What happened?" Domingo asked him. Pert turned to look at him with a sad gaze.

"We went to the swamp and were swarmed by Sableye!" Pert managed to get out, calming down a bit more.

"Sableye?" Domingo looked puzzled. "In the swamp?"

"Were they wearing headbands?" Dobro asked, wondering if it was the same gang that had attacked them earlier.

"No, but they worked like a team," Pert answered, glancing over to Meryl. "She got hurt pretty bad and overdid it with her Shockwave."

Domingo turned to look at the Minun as well. "Yeah, we felt that one in the forest. It's why we came."

Dobro walked over to Meryl and checked for a pulse, finding a faint one. "She seems like she'll be fine. She's just got to rest for a bit...maybe longer."

Wiping away the tears, Pert looked at Domingo with set eyes. "Domingo, come with me."

Domingo raised a brow. "What? Why? Where to?"

"The swamp," said Pert, "Those Sableye were guarding something. I know it. I want to know what it is. For Meryl's sake."

Domingo nodded in understanding. "Alright. Dobro! Stay here and watch Meryl. If she wakes up, give her an Oran Berry." he saw Pert was in pretty bad shape too. "Here, I've got an Oran Berry for you, too."

Pert waved him off. "I'm fine. I don't need one."

"Pert, you look almost as bad as Meryl does. You won't be doing her justice if the Sableye come back and you aren't able to defend yourself. You wouldn't be doing me justice either. So take the berry."

Pert stared at Meryl before finally seeing reason and eating the Oran Berry. That only left one for Meryl and one for either Domingo or Pert should they run into trouble. Pert felt much better, but he wasn't a hundred percent. Neither was Domingo from his battles.

"Ready?" Pert turned back to meet Domingo, face to face. He wanted to do this with every ounce of being left in him. Domingo couldn't blame him.

"Yeah," was his reply. "Let's go."




Team Three: Crimson, Tag, and Sarik


"...My Poké Radar is pinging like nuts."

Crimson had wandered outside of the building for a tiny bit and hadn't been able to find any open windows to hear through. So he decided to take the chance and enter the building. The interior was like a standard hall for schools. Posters tacked on the wall spouting all kinds of knowledge. Closed doors with lessons going on. And surprisingly to Crimson, not a human soul in sight. Taking advantage of this glorious opportunity, he'd walked through the hall until he'd heard that familiar voice of the brunette speak.

A Poke Radar? Crimson had heard the term once before. He picked it up from one of the humans who had hunted him when a small party of people landed on the island of Mohka. The story was that Crimson had encountered a human starting off in the Pokemon catching business, much like where Seraphine was right now. He'd placed a target on his back by one-hit KOing the boy's Froakie, who was far too inexperienced for the fight and never stood a chance. The Poke Radar was the device they were using to find him, tracking his movements and following close behind. Back then, he'd used it to his advantage by leading the hunters away from their civilizations and into a secluded area where he'd battled them and defeated them...except for one. But Ash's Pikachu was something special. He gave that trainer some credit and eventually got the humans to leave the island.

Now, the Poke Radar was being brought up again...and the focus was him!

It was too late for him to try and make it back to the outside and away...but the least he could do is keep his secret abilities a secret. Right before the door opened, Crimson re-entered his Fire-Type state, or his natural form. After all, a Chimchar was a fire type.

The door opened, revealing the welcoming sights of Seraphine and Cinder as well as the not so welcoming sight of the brunette whom which he still didn't know the name of.

"Crimson!"

He couldn't help but smiling at the Charmander. "Hey, Cinder. How's it going?"

"Cinder, wait! We don't know why they're here." Seraphine called to Cinder, who retreated back to her master in disappointment. Crimson was a bit sad to see her walk back in such a disheartened manner, but he knew Seraphine was right. They didn't know why he was here. And a wild Pokemon was to be considered dangerous unless proven docile. Crimson was more docile than most Pokemon in the world, but the two didn't know that.

"Hey! Why are you at the academy?"

Now there was the question. Crimson couldn't exactly tell her the real reason why he came here to this building, which was to figure out why she was upset and if it pertained to anything he or his teammates did. It was a bit complicated to say that right off the bat and the PokeSpeak barrier wouldn't help either.

So Crimson went with the reason why he was at the Academy. "I'm looking for someone," he told the Charmander. Easy communication there, he thought, but relaying this to the humans who couldn't understand him would be a more difficult task. But he hoped his charades would get the point across. He placed his hand to his head and began to act out scanning across the room, as if to show he was searching for something or someone. He kept his gaze on the brunette, wondering what she would do. Hopefully, she'd understand and not directly attack him right away, although that solution was highly unlikely given they were in the hall during class sessions and they would most likely not want to cause a disturbance. That was fine with Crimson, for he didn't want to disturb anyone either.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent Character Portrait: Cinder the Charmander
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So that's what was in here...some kind of fire monkey? Touko's eyes lit up as she dug for her Pokédex. As great as these cutoff jeans were for showing off her cute butt, they did have their downsides.

Chimchar. The Chimp Pokémon. It is very agile. Before going to sleep, it extinguishes the flame on its tail to prevent fires.

She couldn't leave Seraphine alone, though. Not after what had just happened with the Samurott. "It's a Fire-type just like your Charmander, Seraphine. So don't bother trying to use Ember, and not just because I'd have to break out the extinguisher. You can battle it. I have faith in you to make the right decision."

What was this? It seemed to be looking for something...maybe a battle wouldn't be necessary after all. What was going on here, anyway?

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent Character Portrait: Cinder the Charmander
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Seraphine stared at the fire monkey looking as if it was scanning the room. So it was looking for something, or someone. She felt Cinder tugging on her pants leg. "Char char!" She couldn't tell what Cinder was saying but she was probably trying to communicate the same thing that Crimson was. Unfortunately she couldn't communicate with the chimchar very effectively. So it was probably better for Cinder to go talk with them. "Ok Cinder, go ahead and see what they're looking for. Maybe we can help." Cinder gave an excited "Char!" and went over to the three pokemon. To Touko, she said, "I know chimchar is a fire type. But I doubt Cinder could take all three of them anyway. She only knows three moves, one of which she just learned two days ago, and they are probably a lot stronger than they look." She sighed. She should have tried to catch more pokemon before coming here. Cinder's three moves couldn't possibly deal with every situation that arose, as evidenced by how hard she lost to Touko's water/ghost type.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"They're looking for someone!" She tried to communicate with her trainer. Seraphine looked like she understood her as well as she understood the chimchar. But she seemed to at least get they were looking for something. "Ok Cinder, go ahead and see what they're looking for. Maybe we can help."

"Yay!" Cinder was excited to talk to the pokemon she had barely met a couple days ago. She really wanted to find out more about them and how living out in the wild was.

"I'm doing pretty good, but Serpahine's a little torn up. She barely got in, but we got beat up pretty badly by Touko's ghosty jellyfish. I don't think she realized it was a ghost type. So who are you guys looking for? And where's the rest of your team?"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent
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"...maybe we can help! You helped me when your friend captured me, maybe we can help you now! I mean, I'm still Seraphine's only pokemon, but maybe Touko can help too," said Cinder cheerfully.

"I'm sure you could use two extra pairs of eyes," Seraphine added.

Crimson appreciated their wanting to help. He really did. And they were right, of course. Four more eyes out there searching was worth it, even if they came up empty. But...

"I really appreciate your offer," Crimson said, walking towards the exit at Touko's request, "But, what about your lives here? You both need to start learning! Seraphine needs to learn how to be a Pokemon Trainer while you need to learn how to be a great Pokemon fighter. I feel like if I let you help me, it would impede on that. I mean, I do have seven sets of eyes already looking and while nine sets are better, it wouldn't be fair of me to drag you two away from the Pokemon Academy to help me complete my mission. So, unfortunately no. But only for the right reasons." Crimson walked through the double doors, the warmness in the air washing over his body instantly as he stepped outside.

The four had missed the evolution of Radegast's newly formed Haunter, but Crimson perked his ears up as he could hear the commotion of the other Pokemon, specifically the Mankey "Well, it sounds like something went down over there." he casually noted, walking with the other three, seeing if they needed anything. Touko was looking for something in her bag, it seemed like. Curious, he waited to see what she would pull out.




Tag and Sarik had moved from their initial position of laying in the grass to sitting up, antsy to get moving.

"Gah, what's taking Crimson so long?" Tag whined.

"Patience," Sarik reminded him, "He'll be back."

"And if he doesn't? What do we do then?"

Sarik's intelligent eyes gazed across the Academy. "I don't see it as likely. However, in the precaution of Crimson not being able to return for any reason, I say we start planning an infiltration of our own."

Tag shot up like a bolt, "Right. But how do we do it?"

Sarik looked at him, "Well, we just...walk in, I guess."

Tag looked puzzled, "Walk in? Won't that make people suspicious?"

Sarik shrugged, "Possibly. But it's not like we stick out like sore thumbs. At most, they might think "Oh, this Pokemon is without it's owner." or something like that."

Tag's eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh, I see. So we can walk in. Then what?"

"Then, we look for Crimson and see what he's-" Sarik stopped as a sudden light started coming from the Academy. The light looked familiar...he'd seen it before. And then understanding accompanied that familiar feeling as he realized he'd seen it more than once before.

"Hey, that Ghastly's evolving," Sarik pointed to the field, "Good for him."

Tag looked to where Sarik was pointing and watched with him. "You ever think you'd have been happier as a Blastoise?"

Sarik didn't need to think about that one. "No. I feel like I would've become a big muscle Pokemon had I chose to evolve. I like this form better."

Tag nodded. "Yeah, me too. Getting bigger means getting slower and I like being fast."

The two watched as the Ghastly became a Haunter and started clasping his hands together as he got used to his new form.

"Let's go congratulate them!" Tag declared and started running off to their position.

"Tag, wait!" Sarik called after him, "This isn't Mohka!"

But Tag was already too far ahead, running towards the group. Sarik gave chase, but he knew he wouldn't catch him in time. A moment later, Tag was there.

"Hey, congratulations to you guys!" Tag smiled at the Haunter.

Sarik was panting as he caught up, annoyed at Tag's behavior, "Tag, we're not at home where everybody knows everybody." he whispered to him. And then he looked at the five Pokemon, all staring at them. Awkwardly, he explained their position, "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to interrupt you guys. We just follow a tradition where we come from to congratulate any Pokemon who evolves, as it is a glorious achievement. To which I also say, congratulation to you, Haunter." he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, nervously hoping they wouldn't be hostile about it.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle
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“Hey, congratulations to you guys!” came a small, unfamiliar voice.

Elder and the others turned to see a Turtwig standing close by. A Squirtle seemed to be giving chase. The Squirtle caught up, panting as he whispered something to the Turtwig. The Squirtle then spoke to the group. “I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to interrupt you guys. We just follow a tradition where we come from to congratulate any Pokemon who evolves, as it is a glorious achievement. To which I also say, congratulations to you, Haunter.”

“
 Soooo
 wait, what are you sorry about?” Suros asked incredulously.

“They’re saying they’re sorry for interrupting us,” Elder replied to the Fletchling.

“How are they interrupting us?” Suros laughed.

“INTERRUPTION IS IMPOSSIBLE WHEN WE ENGAGE IN COLLECTIVE CELEBRATION!” Rage shrieked.

“Haha! Well-said, buddy.” Elder returned to the two turtles. “Thanks, you two. It means a lot- having hands, that is. My name’s Elder. These are Suros, Rage, Crystal, and the Operative.”

On the last called name, the Joltik crawled into view on top of the Haunter’s head. “Good to see you have true appendages, sir!” The Operative barked. “Now you’re not useless in a fight!”

Elder’s chuckling stopped immediately. Before the Haunter could swat at his forehead with his new hand, the Joltik hopped off and scurried under the cover of some nearby grass. “I provide support, the same as you, thank you very much,” Elder jabbed playfully.

Radegast, meanwhile, watched as his friends interacted with two newcomers from the nearby bleachers. This event seemed to interest him more than whatever was happening in the arenas. Some younger students silently watched the laid-back trainer in the cast and bandage. They no-doubt wondered what Radegast was there for, or why he had such dressings.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent
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As Seraphine walked outside, she spotted a familiar face. Radegast was sitting on the bleachers of the training field, all his pokemon out of their pokeballs. Something looked different though... First of all there were two more with him, secondly Elder looked... different. She walked over out of curiosity. As she got closer, she realized two of the pokemon were the squirtle and the turtwig from Crimson's crew. And Elder was... A haunter now! She quickened her pace towards the excitement.

"Hey Radegast! Thought you weren't sticking around the island. Congratulations Elder! I like your new form." Then she noticed Radegast's bandages. "What happened? You didn't have those bandages the other day did you?"
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cinder walked out with Seraphine towards the familiar human and his pokemon. She saw Tag and Sarik along with them too! It would make sense that Crimson wasn't here alone. There was a lot of excitement going on over there. Cinder ran ahead of Seraphine to greet her friends.

"Hey Tag, Sarik!" She greeted. Then she turned to Elder. "Wow! You evolved! That's so cool! And your new form even has hands!" She almost couldn't contain her excitement for her friend but merely extended a claw for a high five. She noticed the bandages and cast on Radegast. "Hey, what happened to your trainer?"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent
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"Oh, hey," Touko smiled awkwardly at Radegast. "Thought I saw you out the corner of my eye the other day during my battle with that fake Grimsley. You seem to be in a good mood...might I ask what happened? I know of a good deep dish pizza place in the student center, and they're not kidding when they call it extra-large."

She grinned and tipped her snap-back cap towards the party. "Hey, Seraphine...what of our fire monkey friend? I kind of wanted to capture him for myself, but I saw the look in your eyes when you saw it. Mine was a more academic interest, but there was some real passion there. Maybe I should catch it for you? Show you how to catch? Let's make this a learning opportunity, hai?"

Now to see what else this Raikou resident knew. Instead of giving a written test, practical expertise was always more valuable. There was no way Cinder could take on Crimson...no way someone of Cinder's caliber would be so bold as to walk the halls of a human establishment. Maybe Radegast would be a match...he had the full team after all. Touko now just had to figure out her next move.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Pert the Plusle
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“
 Soooo
 wait, what are you sorry about?” asked the Fletchling.

Sarik was thrown off guard, "Uh-"

“They’re saying they’re sorry for interrupting us,” the newly formed Haunter explained.

“How are they interrupting us?” the Fletchling laughed.

Tag turned back to Sarik with a smirk, "See? They didn't mind. Don't be such a worrywart!"

"Well, I wouldn't have to be if Team Justice didn't cause a scene here yesterday," Sarik muttered as Tag turned back to the conversation. Tag knew the Squirtle would've probably acted the same way, regardless of what Dobro and Domingo did here.

"My name’s Elder," the Haunter introduced, "These are Suros, Rage, Crystal, and the Operative.”

Tag laughed at the exchange between Operative and Elder before continuing, "Well, I'm Tag. My shellshocked compadre behind me is Sarik. And our leader Crimson is...somewhere around here." He looked around the area, trying to find their leader. He glanced back to where they were resting to see if the Chimchar had returned, but he hadn't.

"Hey Tag, Sarik!"

An all too familiar voice made Tag's ears perk up as he turned towards the buildings to see the Pokemon they'd encountered yesterday. Cinder, he remembered as he looked behind her to see the brunette, Seraphine, and...

"Speaking of which, there he is right there!" Tag motioned towards the Chimchar as he walked towards them. "Hey, Cinder. How's it going?" he greeted the Charmander as she walked up to them.

Sarik walked immediately over to Crimson, a look of concern on his face. "So you went to get the brunette and Seraphine. Why?"

"Touko's the name of the brunette," Crimson told him. "And it was more like I tried to spy and they discovered me."

Sarik gasped, "Does that mean you're-"

"No, I'm not captured," Sarik breathed a sigh of relief as Crimson went on, "At least not yet anyway. But looking at the situation..." he looked up to see Touko's calculating face, who was talking to Radegast, "They might try."

Sarik nodded determinedly, "Should we help?"

"No, I think I got it," Crimson said, "Besides, I don't want to drag you two down with me in case the worst happens."

Sarik glanced at the three humans, from Seraphine to Touko to Radegast. "Which one are you fighting? All of them?"

Crimson studied the three thoughtfully, "I don't know. Probably not Seraphine, since she doesn't carry that much experience. It'd be between Touko and the boy in the bandages."

Crimson perked his ears up as Touko mentioned him to the redhead, "Hey, Seraphine...what of our fire monkey friend? I kind of wanted to capture him for myself, but I saw the look in your eyes when you saw it. Mine was a more academic interest, but there was some real passion there. Maybe I should catch it for you? Show you how to catch? Let's make this a learning opportunity, hai?"

So his assumptions were correct. They were going to fight him. Crimson watched her glance over to where the bandaged one stood and by reading her face, knew instantly where this was going. "I'll be fighting him and his Pokemon."

"The ones we just met?" Sarik asked incredulously.

Crimson nodded. "Those five." He walked over to the pow-wow of Pokemon.

Tag was going off as to what they were doing there. "We aren't actually natives of the island. We live on a different island called Mohka. We're part of a guild there called the Isle Defenders," Tag reached into his pack and pulled out the badge, a white and pink looking oval with wings on either side and a logo on the front with the letters "ID" engraved in it. "We explore, we help other Pokemon, and we defend our home from evil humans and Pokemon alike. Right now, we're exploring...well this island in fact. But we've come across a snag. You see-"

"Alright, that's a lot to take in for right now," Crimson interrupted. Tag stopped and nodded, putting the badge away. Crimson walked up to Elder, a genuine smile on his face and his hand outstretched to be shook. "Hi, I'm Crimson."




Pert and Domingo continued onward through the swamp. Unlike the last time Pert was here, no one was around to attack them this time. They spotted a couple of Pokemon, a Bellsprout and a Weepinbell, walking along the path. Upon asking them if they'd seen anything weird, they responded with seeing a cluster of Sableye around here recently, but besides that nothing.

After a bit longer, Domingo and Pert reached the edge of the swamp, the sudden change in atmosphere a welcoming feeling to the two Pokemon as they could see the ocean and feel the breeze on their skin.

"Do you see anything?" Domingo asked him, keeping his eyes peeled around him. It was a hard task after seeing so much green before and finally coming across the shade of blue.

Pert also looked, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He shook his head, disappointed. "No, I don't."

Domingo sighed, "I hate to say it, but there's no other way to go but back."

Pert stomped his foot in frustration, "I know those Sableye weren't just a random Pokemon gang walking around! They had to be here for a reason!"

Domingo agreed, thinking back to the gang they fought in the forest with the bandanas. "Yeah, they don't sound like natives. But we don't have anywhere else to look. It's possible they're smarter than to hang around where the important stuff is. Maybe they're decoys."

Pert was open-minded and didn't doubt the possibility. But something still didn't feel right about the attack. A thought crossed his mind, a thought he was surprised he didn't think about earlier. "Maybe it was an ambush? To get rid of me and Meryl?"

Domingo raised a brow in interest at Pert's proclamation. "You think?"

Pert shrugged, "It's possible. If they weren't guarding anything, why go after us at all?"

Domingo nodded understandingly. "That makes sense. But if that's the case, we should head back and look after Meryl with Dobro. At the same time, we should plan our moves and avoid the swamp until Crimson, Sarik, and Tag return."

Pert nodded, "Right." He took off towards the mountains, eager to get back to his sister. Domingo trotted after him, giving once glance back towards the ocean before disappearing among the murky green of the swamp.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent
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Radegast was flicking at the brim of his cap as he sat on the bleachers. With glazed eyes, the human seemed to perform only that simple function. He only snapped out of that odd trance when he heard someone call his name. It was Seraphine, greeting him and congratulating Elder. “What happened, You didn’t have those bandages the other day did you?”

“Nope!” Radegast replied with a grin.

Another girl- an older one at that- greeted Radegast as well. “You seem to be a good mood
 might I ask what happened?” I know of a good eep dish pizza place in the student center, and they’re not kidding when they call it extra-large.”

“No big deal, I just went into the forest. Fell in a cave, dislocated my shoulder, gashed my head, then Elder just evolved. You know, typical stuff. I wish we could’ve checked the cave, but my buddies
” Something clicked in Radegast’s mind, and he suddenly chuckled. “Dude wait
 pizza? Are you asking me out to pizza or something? I think I’m outta your league, dude.” After a pause to gauge her reaction, Radegast continued, “Nah I’m kidding. Deep-dish or thin-crust, Pizza’s great. Yo Elder, whatcha think of pizza?” The human turned his gaze down the bleachers to the pokemon forming up around the base.

—

Elder's jagged smile broadened at the continued congratulations from others. His grin was at his widest when he high-fived the Charmander, Cinder. “Appreciate it, squirt. How’s that tail-whipping going?”

“Hey, what happened to your trainer?” Cinder asked.

“Oh, nothing special. He fell in a cave, dislocated his shoulder, gashed his head,” Elder replied, “You know, typical stuff.”

“Yo Elder, whatcha think of pizza?” Radegast focused his attention on the gathering pokemon down below the bleachers.

Elder pumped a fist into the air. “As long as you’re buying, buddy!”

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent
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“No big deal, I just went into the forest. Fell in a cave, dislocated my shoulder, gashed my head, then Elder just evolved. You know, typical stuff. I wish we could’ve checked the cave, but my buddies
”

Seraphine couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She laughed anyway. "Well as long as you're ok."

"Hey, Seraphine...what of our fire monkey friend? I kind of wanted to capture him for myself, but I saw the look in your eyes when you saw it. Mine was a more academic interest, but there was some real passion there. Maybe I should catch it for you? Show you how to catch? Let's make this a learning opportunity, hai?"

She turned to Touko with wide eyes. Her eyes were wide with amazement that Touko would do that for her, and also with some surprise. Touko knew that the chimchar was the leader of the pokemon they met yesterday right? It wouldn't be fair to capture him. Plus she doubted Cinder could really take them. Then she realized Touko was trying to get Radegast to fight.

"Yeah, chimchars are awesome! I've never seen a fire monkey before! As much as I'd love a chimchar though, I don't think that's a good idea. This one seems to have a team already. Besides, I don't want to force a pokemon to come with me if they don't want to. Pizza sounds good though, what do you think Cinder?" She looked at her charmander, who seemed to have focused her attention on the chimchar after Touko's statement.

Cinder ran over, arms outstretched. She picked her up, careful not to let the flame on Cinder's tail catch her clothes.

"You're a tad bit heavier now than when you hatched," Seraphine chided, and put Cinder back down.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I'm doing pretty good! Look, I've learned a new move! Elder here helped." She demonstrated her tail whip with pride. Her eyes got wide when Elder said what happened.

"Whoa! That's typical? Your life must be really exciting then." Just then, she noticed Crimson, Tag, and Sarik huddled off to the side. They were whispering and looking at the humans.

"Hey, Seraphine...what of our fire monkey friend? I kind of wanted to capture him for myself, but I saw the look in your eyes when you saw it."

Oh no, she was tempting Seraphine with a fire pokemon. She couldn't let Crimson get captured, though, even by her trainer. Crimson had lots of important work to do on the island.

"Crimson! They're trying to get Seraphine to capture you!" Cinder exclaimed as she ran over. But from their looks when she interrupted, that was what they were in the middle of discussing.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt. I guess you've got it covered though, by the looks of it!"

"Yeah, chimchars are awesome! I've never seen a fire monkey before! As much as I'd love a chimchar though, I don't think that's a good idea. This one seems to have a team already. Besides, I don't want to force a pokemon to come with me if they don't want to. Pizza sounds good though, what do you think Cinder?"

Aww yeah pizza. Such cheesy, saucy, meaty goodness. "Heck yeah I'll take some!" She ran back to her trainer and stretched out her arms so that Seraphine could pick her up.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent
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  1. Jodan desu yo = You're joking, used in this sense to mean "are you kidding me" at Touko's lack of cash.

    by LawOfTheLand

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"Okay. So we're all in agreement?" Touko groaned as she looked up her balance. Payday wasn't until next week. Damn it.

"Jodan desu yo," she grumbled as she snapped the wallet shut. "No pizza parlor. At least not on my dime. There is, however, a local specialty that humans and Pokémon alike are sure to love. I've even heard Shirona is mildly addicted to them...Castelia Cones. It's all the way over on the main land, so we'll need to grab a ferry. I'm supposed to be having office hours right now, though...you guys decide what you want and who's paying."

The cones were just an excuse to see what the heck was going on over there...it did look a little suspicious, and after the last incident where Cinder was kidnapped, gotta nip it in the bud. As a helper to the others, she quickly sketched out a pizza slice and an ice cream cone on a sheet of paper before handing it to Seraphine. "Use that to find out what they want. As for you, good sir..." Here she turned back towards Radegast. "You and your Pokémon get along great. There's a lot more good times ahead, I'm sure...so how about a battle? I think Mankey evolves when it gets stronger, as well...though we might want to check on your shoulder first."

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Emiko Touko Character Portrait: "Lord-Regent" Radegast the Trainer Character Portrait: Crimson the Chimchar Character Portrait: Tag the Turtwig Character Portrait: Sarik the Squirtle Character Portrait: Seraphine Kent
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Radegast stood up and made his way down the bleachers. He heard talk about whoever’s paying, so he immediately said “Yo, Pizza or ice cream, it don’t matter- cuz it’s on me! Like Elder said.” Radegast checked his pockets to produce his wallet. He paused, and wore a neutral expression. “That is what you said, right?”

Elder nodded.

“Good," Radegast huffed, "I don’t even know Pokespeak, dude.”

“
 so how about a battle?” She asked.

“Jeez, I was just joking on the “hitting on me” thing,” Radegast retorted, “Don’t need to turn it literal, amirite?” Still
 A battle? As in a trainer battle? Radegast wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Despite his age, he had never been in even a half-assed trainer battle. Despite the adventures and combat his friends had witnessed, the human himself never gave them a single command as a full-fledged trainer. The pokemon usually operated on their own, or per Elder’s impeccable advice, so there was really no point for Radegast to get involved. Plus this girl looked to have two or three years on Radegast, give or take. Frankly, the boy wasn’t really sure anymore, what with the difference in growth spurts between trainers.

One look at Rage, however, made Radegast forget that anxiety. He could’ve sworn that the Mankey was emitting pulses of heat waves. “A BATTLE! A CHALLENGE TO PHYSICAL COMBAT! YOU WILL REGRET THE DAY YOU CROSSED BLADES WITH THE THOUSAND GREATEST EVILS WHO HAVE EVER EXISTED WITHIN A SINGLE FORM!”

“You do remember you lost to Suros, right?” Radegast jabbed playfully before laughing. He crouched down to scratch behind the Mankey’s ears.

“ONE TIME!” Rage bellowed savagely as he pounded his chest, “AND A LITTLE TO THE LEFT! IT IS STILL HISTORY AS ANCIENT AS MY INFERNO OF A SOUL! SING UNTO ME MY KINGDOM OF TORTURE!” Rage glared at the Fletchling, who had decided to roost on the grass because standing up was tiresome. “BUT KNOW THAT I STILL CRAVE REVENGE ONE DAY! I KNOW HOW TO DESTROY FLYING-TYPES NOW!”

“Yeah yeah, whatever dude,” Suros returned, “Look can we get pizza already?”

“NNNNNNNNNNYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH- YES! PIZZA! OF COURSE! A WARRIOR’S APPETITE CANNOT BE SATIATED BY A LACK OF PIZZA! FRIEND-RADEGAST! WE SHALL CONQUER THIS RECOMMENDED LOCATION OF PIZZA LIKE BLOOD BROTHERS HUNTING AND DIVIDING A MIGHTY QUARRY!! ALSO YOU’RE TOTALLY FORKING OVER THE CURRENCY FOR SUSTENANCE!” Rage began to stomp off, bellowing war chants in an unknown (probably made-up) language, akin to ancient tribal servants of long-dead deities. Everyone else treated this behaviour as perfectly normal.

Radegast burst out laughing once more. He even gripped his left arm to prevent it from moving too much. “Ooh! Ah! Almost stretched! Almost stretched. Ah
 Anyway,” Radegast stood once more and faced the brown-haired girl, “It’s all good, miss. I already got it relocated. Doctors gave me a real sling and everything. No need to worry about this guy.” The human lightly pet his shoulder. “Still, I’m not one for battles, but Rage is always down for a fight. Heck, just about all of ‘em got into a brawl when I fell in the cave.” Radegast laughed once more as he turned to the other pokemon. “Yo, you guys gotta tell me how that fight went.”

“You wouldn’t understand Pokespeak,” Crystal replied matter-of-factly.

“Oh don’t be a wet towel, Crystal
” Radegast chimed, “Well then again, you are a water type.”

Suros squeaked with laughter at that bit. Even Crystal’s face betrayed a smirk.

“SIR!” The Joltik chirped over everyone, “We should not conduct in intense physical activity directly after eating!”

“Alright, alright,” Radegast chuckled as he rose one hand (obviously, his good one) to shush everyone up. “My friends are down for a fight, before we eat, I mean... but
” Radegast moved a little closer to whisper. For a split-second, his eyes held an unusual, almost alien intensity. His friends did not see it, for if they did, all five pokemon would've collectively acquired a very unusual sense of alertness. “My friends are not exactly
 orthodox...” Fully relaxed once more, Radegast grinned and said, "Shouldn't be a problem, though. Between Elder and Crystal, I'm sure they'll learn this format quickly."